Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/609

* CHARTE. 529 CHARTERHOUSE. to designate the constitution or organic law granted bj- Louis XVI II. on his restox-ation in 1814. It wa.< formerly written charlri: The «ord is an old one and a])plii>d to a large class of legal documents. Among the best known of the older chartes was the Cliinte yormaiide or aiix Xonnantls, containing the privileges granted to the Xonnans ( I.'il4-1.")) by Louis X. The Trcsor des Chartes of France is one of the important bureaus of the national archives. The Ecole des t^hartes in Paris is the leading school of t.ie world for instruction in the study of histori- cal dwuiiicnts. The charte of 1814 has always been considered the fundamental law of constitu- tional monarchy when that form of government has existed in France. It was an act of royal grace and not in any sense a popular constitution or even a contract between King and people. This fact eventually led to the Kevolution of 1830. The charte sworn to on the 2!lth of August of that year by King Louis Philippe exijlicitly recognized the sovereignty of the people. This ■document, with some modifications, remained in force till the Revolution of 1848. CHARTER (OF. chartre, from Lat. chartula, dim. of Gk. jia/jr;?, charte, paper). A formal writing by which property is granted or rights and privileges are conferred. The term was formerly applied to a written conveyance of land, and property held undi^r such an instrimient was, in Anglo-Saxon law, called 'charter-land,' or •bookland.' In this sense, the word has given way to "deed." The term charter is used to describe a grant of land, franchises, or other privileges by the State, ■or a solemn guaranty by the sovereign of popular rights. Magna Carta (q.v.). or the great charter issued by King John in 121.5, is one of the chief constitutional documents of Great Bintain. It has been the custom of the British Government for centuries to grant political charters to some ■of its colonies. In American colonial history, grants of fran- ■chise, governmental privileges, and estates to companies for the purpose of establishing colo- nies, to the inhabitants of colonies in general, or to individual proprietors were embodied in charters. Of the first sort were the charters of Massachusetts Hay. granted by Charles T. (1629), and the charter of Georgia, granted by George 11. (17.'?2). Of the second sort was the charter of Connecticut granted to the people of the colony by Charles II. (1662). Of the third sort were the original charter of Xew York, granted to the Duke of York by Charles II. (1664), and the charter of Maryland, granted to Lord Balti- more by Charles I. ( 16.32). Some of the colonial municipal charters remain in force to the pres- ent day, but the general provisions of charters are of little use in the United States, as corpo- rations are now created by the several Legisla- tures or by Congress. Blackstone describes such charter governments as "civil corporations, with the power of making by-laws for their own in- terior regulations, not contrary to the laws of England ; and with such rights and authorities as are specially given them in their several charters of incorporation." .Tudge Story criti- cises Blackstone's view, declaring that the char- ter colonies of America "were great political establishments, possessing the general powers of government and rights of sovereignty, dependent indeed on the realm of England, but still pos- sessing within their own territorial limits the general powers of legislation and taxation." None of the British colonies, at present, "possess the general powers of govenuneut and rights of sovereignty." Their legislative authority is at all times subordinate to that of Parliament, and their legislative acts partake more of the nature of by-laws than of Parliamentary statutes. The cliartcr of their legislative powers and privileges is known as the "Coliinial Laws Act, 1805." In modern nuinicii>al law, the term charter is most frequently used to denote the grant of a friiiwliise (q.v.) by the sovereign power to a corporation. According to Blackstone, "the King's consent is absolutely necessary to the erection of any corporation, either expressly or impliedly given," and "the immediate creative act is usually performed by the King alone, in virtue of his rnyal i)rerogative." In the United States, corporations are char- tered, as a rule, by legislative act ; cither by a special statute which confers upon a particular corporation the si)ecial powers and privileges named therein, or under a general law which pro- vides the method to be pursued by persons who would organize a corporation. In the latter case. the articles of association, taken in connection with the provisions of the general statute, con- stitute the charter. If the corporation is a pub- lic one, such as a city, county, or town, its charter may be changed at will by the Legislature. Such a corporation is a mere agency of the State for the exercise of governmental powers within a particular area. It has no vested right to any of its powers or franchises. Its charter "is not a contract, but a law for the public good." On the other hand, the charter of a private corpo- ration is a contract between the State and the corporators. As such, it is protected from repeal or modification by the provision of the Federal Constitution which declares that "no State shall . . . pass any . . . law impairing the obligation of contracts." (Article I., § 10.) The State granting the charter may, however, reserve the right to alter, anlend, or repeal it. If the State does make this reservation, it is at liberty to act in accordance therewith, notwith- standing the constitutional provision. Consult: Dicey, Lectures Introductory to the Study of the JjUW of the English Constitution (4th ed., Lon- don, 180,3) : Cooley, General Principles of Co)V- stitutional Laic in the United States. See CoR- PORATTON ; D.VRTMOUTn COLLEGE CaSE. CHARTERHOtrSE (a corruption of Fr. Chartreuse) . The name applied in England to Carthusian monasteries. The first was founded at Witham, on the borders of Selwood Forest, in 1178, by King Henry II., in fulfillment of a vow made on the occasion of his memorable penance- at the tomb of Saint Tliomas of Canterbury. The second was at llinton in Somersetshire (1222) ; the third at Beauvale, X'ottinghamshire (1.34.3) ; the fourth, and most famous, to which the name is restricted in general usage, was situated in London. It was endowed by the will of ilichael de Xorthburgh. Bishop of London, 1355-61, and the monks took possession of it in 1371, Its history is not of much general interest until the reign of llenrv VI 1 1., when in 1535 and the following years a number of the monks suf- fered death for refusing to acknowledge the loyal supremacy in spiritual matters, the prior, .lohn Houghton, being the first martyr for the old